Bismarck weekly tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1943, 1887-12-23
Fourteen Thousand Gallons of Naph-
tha Escaped From the Pipes
Into the Sewers.
Frequent and Terrific Explosions for
Half an Hour Cause
General Panic.
The Number of Killed and Amount
of Damage a Matter OF
Speculation.
Some Individual Losses.

ROCHESTER,. N. Y, Dec. 21.-Shortly be-
fore $50 o'clock this afternoon terrific
explosion occurred in front of the Poole
flour mill on Mill street at the foot OF Fac
tory street. Only few seconds after the
first explosion another followed and an
other and another in rapid succession. In
stantly the flames burst from the Poole
mill and the walls fell in. The fire burned
with great fury and although the work
men fastened to get out, it is feared some
must have perished. 1t was only few
minutes before the Washington mill, ad-
joining the burning structure, was on fire
and the flames communicated to other
buildings.
THE CAUSE OF THE EXPLOSION
was that the sewers in the vicinity were
filled with naphtha. To-day ID 900 gallons
of naphtha were dumped from the vac
uum works through the space line
of the old canal. Itwas intended for the
Municipal Gas company, but one or more
breaks in The line allowed the naphtha to
escape into the adjoining sewers. When
the sewers became surcharged the gas
escaped into the mills and exploded there
or elsewhere and the fire made its way
through the mains in the middle of the
streets, throwing out man-hole covers and
tearing up the roadway in the vicinity of
the fire and up Mill and State streets as far
as Market street, three-fourths Of mile.
People were running in every direction
and the
FREQUENT EXPLOSIONS
terrified them more. Explosions continued
at such frequent intervals for the first half
hour that people were deferred from get
ting anywhere near the fire. One man
jumped from second story window to the
river beneath, distance of fifty feet. His
right leg was broken and he received i'll
ternal injuries. The walls of Jefferson
mill fell in about o'clock and it is feared
that there are several men buried under
them. The engineer of the Clinton mill
and two companions were standing near
the front of the mill when the explosion
occurred. They retained sufficient pres
ence of mind to shut off the steam and get
out of the mill. There were six persons at
work in the Clinton mill, four of whom es-
capped through the water wheel. At 1:S0
T.. uAO AAC w 40 tIuCI COIlt1O1s llo GA
plOsions ceased about $50 and no more
danger is apprehended from them. The
explosions covered wide range OF terri
tory.
THE KILLED
so far as now known are Fred Wilson and
e. A. Webster. J0hl, Lee, employed at the
Peoples mill, has not been accounted for
and it is thought he is dead in the tunnel.
The aggregate damage is hard to estimate.
The following individual losses are known:
Washington mill and contents $4,000, in
surance $S5, 600; Jefferson mill and contents
$4,000, insurance $25,OO0; Clinton mill and
contents $75,000, insurance $4,000. At
this writing (,"idnight) it is believed that
four persons are killed. They are Fred.
erick Wilson, Edward A. Webster, Abram
Rogers and John Lee. The last named is
missing and is supposed was burned to
death in the Clinton mill. The injured
will number at least twenty. Most Of them
are bruised and cut.